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Sunday, January 9, 2011

Spiritually speaking.... a new year & year in review

2010 spread with my Sacred Circle deck

2010 was low-key in terms of my spiritual path. The celebrations I attended or organized were simple and some like Spiral Dance were included more out of habit than by a distinct calling. As I mentioned briefly in my previous post I try not to be hard on myself about my lack of focus in that area since my life right now is very mama focused. When I felt called to do something I made the time and otherwise I let life just flow from day-to-day trying to keep each moment as connected as possible to the bigger picture.

My one serious personal ritual was making the herbal amulets made for my parents. I had a lovely walk on Imbolc and had fun with the kids on Spring Equinox. Beltaine was not really on the radar this year, Summer Solstice was spent in nature with friends. Lughnasad saw me at the height of morning sickness and moving prep. Autumn Equinox was spent outdoors in the leaves with friends and attending feasts. Samhain was introspective and Yule was peaceful.

My personal yearly tarot read was different this year as I used a new set of cards for the first time. The Wheel of the Year spread was what I used, a twelve card circle spread which is great for looking at individual pieces of your life and how they combine to form a whole. There was a lot of fire energy in the cards, some earth and a little bit of air carrying over from the 2010 spread. My overall impression was very literal in terms of rebirth as a mother and as a family unit. It also pointed to lots of internal work which makes sense to me since I seem to remember from Ky's babyhood being very introspective from all the late night feeding sessions. You are awake enough to feed the babe but still hazy from lack of sleep so you tend to stay in a more internal, thoughtful state.

With the new baby set to arrive around Equinox this year I hope to have the ambition to celebrate both Imbolc and Spring's arrival. Once we get mobile I intend to explore our mountain with my boys and make spending outdoor time a huge priority. Being outdoors, making artwork and caring for my family are the most "pagan" parts of my life right now. Caring for my family being all the homemaking and celebrating we do, even budgeting and running errands. Being connected to spirit for me is very much about being present these days. Meditating behind closed doors is not a huge priority nor is continuing the trance work I was doing more of in 2009. I think those things will come back to me but for now they are not compelling me towards making time for them. Looking at something I've created that is being used by my family is very rewarding and the snippets of time that I spend sewing give me a great sense of joy. It can be about the little things and I'm grateful for that.